Founded by Wee Toon Ouut in 1987, this beloved brand is today among the most popular and accessible around, serving a good rendition along other home-style comfort food.
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The chicken has a tender, juicy, slightly springy chew, with pleasant meaty sweet savoury flavour, enhanced with a touch of salty sweet savoury nutty notes from the gravy.
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The poached chicken is more clean-tasting with a thin gelatinous layer beneath the slippery skin, while the equally popular roasted chicken has a faint smoky aroma and a slightly crisp skin.
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The long-grain rice is soft and loose, gently slick but not overly greasy, with lovely grainy savoury sweet flavour. The sliced juicy cucumbers and crisp spring onions lend vegetal sweet flavour.
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Served with dark sweet soy sauce with salty savoury sweet flavour, crushed ginger with herbal sweet spice notes, chili with spicy savoury kick, and a clear chicken broth.
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Chicken Rice
Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice
@ United Square, 101 Thomson Road #01-08
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
Chef hawker Nancy Lim set up her stall in December 1986, and has gained a loyal following over the years.
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Their rice is a stand out, fried then infused with ginger and spring onions, giving it a fluffy texture with grainy savoury sweet earthy flavour.
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The chicken, poached or roasted, has a bouncy tender juicy satisfying chew, with natural sweet savoury flavour. Interestingly, the sauce differs from elsewhere, being light with sweet savoury notes, highlighting the freshness of the meat.
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The crunchy sliced cucumbers with vegetal sweet notes, lovely warm clear chicken broth, and trio of dipping sauces round out this meal.
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Chicken Rice
Whampoa Nan Xiang Chicken Rice
@ Whampoa Makan Place, 90 Whampoa Drive #01-21
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
This franchise was certainly affected by the recent disruption to supply of fresh chickens, with their serving of chicken increasingly being thin sliced.
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Still, be it poached or roasted, the highlight is their gravy, robust with meaty savoury salty sweet nutty flavour, infusing the tender chewy chicken meat.
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The fluffy oily rice is properly decadent with grainy savoury sweet flavour, while the juicy sliced cucumbers and achar / pickled Peranakan salad carry vegetal sweet sour tangy zesty notes.
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Completed with a cloudy but tasty chicken broth. Expect a short queue, though it moves quickly.
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Chicken Rice
Yishun 925 Hainanese Chicken Rice
@ 925 Yishun Central 1 #01-249
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
This brand has many oulets across Singapore, but they generally function individually, like a loose collection of stalls that just share a common supplier.
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Since there's so much independence, some stalls only sell poached chicken, while others have roast chicken on their menu.
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Quality differs as well, though I find the outlets in Bukit Merah, Toa Payoh, Amoy, and Bedok, to be pretty good. The chicken is thin sliced but tender and juicy, the gravy lending a meaty savoury salty sweet nutty note.
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The rice is medium oily, fragrant with grainy savoury sweet flavour. Sliced cucumbers with vegetal sweet flavour, a full-flavoured cloudy chicken broth, and the trio of dipping sauces complete.
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Chicken Rice
Tong Fong Fatt Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice
@ ABC Brickworks, 6 Jalan Bukit Merah #01-32
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
Hawker Cheong Weng Wah still helms this brand, known for being among the earliest pioneers (since 1988) of the ice-blanch technique which renders optimal tenderness of the chicken meat and silkiness of the skin.
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Both poached and roasted versions are equally popular, having clean meaty sweet savoury flavour, with the tender moist succulent texture of the chicken. The gravy lends a light salty savoury herbal taste, yum.
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The fluffy rice is fragant with grainy sweet herbal spice notes, having been infused with ginger, garlic, red onions, and spring onions.
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A duo of vegetables, juicy cucumbers with vegetal sweet notes, and crunchy pickled mustard greens with vegetal salty sweet earthy herbal flavour, are served alongside. Completed with the trio of dipping sauces.
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Chicken Rice
Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice
@ Tiong Bahru Market & Hawker Centre, 30 Seng Poh Road #02-82
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
Possibly the most well regarded stall around, they've been disrupted by the recent ban on fresh chickens from Malaysia.
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That said, they still have an edge over other stalls with their rice; fluffy, oily, fragrant with grainy sweet savoury flavour.
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The chicken, at least before the ban, was succulent juicy tender bouncy, with meaty sweet savoury flavour that is refreshing. The poached version is slightly better than the roast version for me, though both have the salty savoury nutty gravy.
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Served with juicy sliced cucumbers with vegetal sweet flavour, and a light chicken broth. Pair with the trinity of dipping sauces; dark sweet soy, chili, crushed ginger.
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Chicken Rice
Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
@ Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street #01-10
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
Chef Maria Siew Pui Yin might have a tongue-in-cheek named stall, a wordplay on "Virgin Mary Chicken", but her 60+ years of experience shows.
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The fresh chicken here is the most tender, bouncy, and succulent ever, with a clean meaty sweet flavour.
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Her signature gravy, a blend of herbs, dark sweet soy sauce, rose wine, and sesame oil, has a distinct herbal earthy salty sweet flavour that is so addictive.
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Some fluffy white rice and crisp bean sprouts, along with a spicy sour chili, round this out. She's equally famed for her braised tofu beancurd, a favourite add-on for regulars.
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Chicken Rice
Ma Li Ya Virgin Chicken 瑪莉亞處女雞
@ Chinatown Complex Food Centre, 335 Smith Street #02-189
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
There was a time in my life that I lived in relative poverty, having sunk savings into a failing venture, freelancing without income security, and unable to find sustainable full time employment.
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In those difficult times, I had a budget of just $5 per day (or less) for all meals. And that's why this brand holds a special place in my heart.
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At just SGD $2.50 back then, their generous portions went a long way. Here, I could get a good amount of fluffy rice, fragrant with grainy savoury sweet flavour.
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The chicken was medium sliced in equally generous portions, and poached or roasted, was fresh and meaty sweet savoury in flavour, with the gravy lending a fragrant salty savoury nutty aroma, so good.
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For the price, they even included a good amount of cucumbers (changed to bean sprouts and carrots now) with crunchy vegetal sweet notes, as well as a warm cabbage soup.
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I'm thankful to them. These days, even adjusting for inflation, they still have good portions at wallet-friendly prices.
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Chicken Rice
Eng Kee Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice & Porridge
@ 7 Eunos Crescent #01-2651
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
Chicken Rice (SGD $6.50) @ Pow Sing Kitchen.
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Founded in 1983 by Lee Chin Soo and Steven Tan, this heritage chicken rice brand is also known for their range of Peranakan dishes.
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While they formerly had roast chicken readily available, they've since focused solely on poached chicken. It's clean-tasting with a light springy tender chew, mild sweet savoury flavour, nicely pleasant.
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The rice is aromatic and fluffy with grainy sweet notes. As a set meal, they also serve it with a vegetable of the day, in this case, I had tender broccoli and carrots with vegetal sweet flavour.
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Couldn't resist getting the add-on bakwan kepiting / minced pork and crab meat ball soup at SGD $8 too.
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Chicken Rice
Pow Sing Kitchen
@ 59 Serangoon Garden Way
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
Propelled to fame as the 1st hawker stall to be conferred a Michelin star (and also the least expensive 1-Michelin star meal in the world at the time), Chef Chan Hon Meng might have lost the star, but not the long queues of hungry patrons.
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Still going at it everyday, just as he's done before the star. The chicken is wonderfully bouncy and tender, with the chicken meat holding clean sweet savoury notes, while the chicken skin has robust salty savoury flavour.
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The rice is fluffy and lightly fragrant with mild grainy sweet flavour, juicy cucumbers, soft braised peanuts, and wobbly egg to complete.
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Chicken Rice
Liao Fan / Hawker Chan
@ Chinatown Complex Food Centre, 335 Smith Street #02-126
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
This heritage brand has a history stretching back to 1953, known for their generous set meal which is balanced and filling.
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Their roast chicken is a stand out, bouncy springy tender juicy with meaty sweet savoury flavour. The fluffy rice, fragrant with garlic and chicken broth, has a lovely grainy sweet savoury flavour that complements.
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The crunchy fresh kai-lan / Chinese broccoli picks up the salty savoury notes of the thick oyster sauce, while the braised egg lends an eggy sweet note.
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The trinity of dipping sauces; dark sweet soy, chili, and crushed ginger, round out this satisfying meal, yum.
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Chicken Rice
Loy Kee Chicken Rice
@ 342 Balestier Road
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
With over 40 years experience serving across Hong Kong and Singapore, Chef Hawker Randy is well regarded for his braised dishes.
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The fresh chicken has a delightful bouncy springy chew, the chicken meat being clean-tasting and sweet, the slippery skin being savoury salty herbal in flavour.
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The rice is pretty normal, fluffy and soft, but the gravy lends an addictive grainy salty herbal savoury flavour. Also appreciate the crunchy fresh kai-lan / Chinese broccoli with its vegetal bitter sweet notes.
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Chicken Rice
Fragrant Soya Sauce Chicken
@ Chinatown Complex Food Centre, 335 Smith Street #02-85
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html
Level 10 Burppler · 3639 Reviews
Ivan Teh RunningMan Corporate Adult Educator. Blogger (Lifestyle, Food, Travel, Ed). L&D Futurist.